Should pregnant or breastfeeding women limit peanut consumption?
Exposure to peanuts very early in life appears to increase the risk of developing allergy to peanuts. The Avon Longitudinal Study, a British study of 13,971 preschool children, was designed to collect information from early pregnancy throughout childhood regarding the incidence of peanut allergies. Results did not show any definitive evidence that peanuts in a pregnant woman’s diet cause an increased sensitivity to peanuts for the fetus. Further tests showed no peanut-specific IgE detected in cord blood. Instead, other explanations for peanut allergy have been proposed, including family history of peanut allergy, skin exposure to preparations containing peanut oil (especially if skin rashes or breaks in the skin are present), and early exposure to soy protein. Women who are breastfeeding may want to avoid eating peanuts.
